Press releases

Press releases

Reacting to the news that the EU Council has approved extension of the term of copyright in sound recordings from 50 to 70 years, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said:

"Term extension is a cultural disaster. It means that it will be harder to publish older works, and many will remain out of print. EU research shows that around 90% of the cash windfall from copyright levies will fall into the hands of record labels. Despite the rhetoric, small artists will gain very little from this, while our cultural heritage takes a massive blow by denying us full access to these recordings for another generation.

"The campaign against term extension showed that copyright policy can no longer be a deal done in darkened rooms: the public has a strong interest in the cultural impact of excessive copyright and damaging restrictions. ORG would like to thank everyone who helped throughout the campaign."

The Open Rights Group ran a strong campaign against term extension, with around 15,000 EU citizens signing the Sound Copyright petition against term extension. This helped reduce the proposal from 95 to 70 years and delayed its passing, as many small countries realised they were liable to export capital to US-based companies for no real gain.

Ten human rights groups have warned today that hasty measures to limit access to social networks and communications could lead to abuse. Their letter to Home Secretary Theresa May says:

"We are very concerned that new measures, made in good faith but in a heated political environment, will overextend powers in ways that would be susceptible to abuse, restrict legitimate, free communication and expression and undermine people's privacy. This is especially so if proposals involve unaccountable voluntary arrangements between law enforcement and communications providers."

The signatories also ask for a meeting with Theresa May, in addition to the meeting she is having today with service providers.

Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group, said:

"Blocking people's communications could do more harm than good. People may be put in danger and efforts to stop rioting and damage might well be disrupted. Powers targeting individuals could easily lead to abuse. Theresa May needs to meet with rights groups and have a frank discussion about where these ideas may be leading us."

In response to the Government's expected announcement tomorrow morning that it is supporting the findings of Professor Hargreaves' report 'Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth', Peter Bradwell, campaigner at Open Rights Group said:

"Exceptions like the right to parody, which many other countries already have, will bring huge rewards for creators and consumers. A right to parody will lead to a blossoming of legitimate spoofs and satires by the public, comedians and campaigners alike. The Government should be loudly applauded for wanting to modernise the UK's copyright laws."

Reacting to the decision of the courts to instruct BT to block Newzbin, Peter Bradwell, Copyright Campaigner at the Open Rights Group said:

"Website blocking is pointless and dangerous. These judgements won't work to stop infringement or boost creative industries. And there are serious risks of legitimate content being blocked and service slowdown. If the goal is boosting creators' ability to make money from their work then we need to abandon these technologically naive measures, focus on genuine market reforms, and satisfy unmet consumer demand."

"It is important to remember that this is not a judgement on whether the Digital Economy Act is good public policy. We still believe that if enacted the Act will hurt people's privacy and access to the Internet for no proven gain. We hope that BT and TalkTalk will appeal and we will support them if they do."

"We are talking about ISPs competing with the Internet for content delivery. Whether films, music or gaming services, the idea is that ISPs will deliver content better and more reliably than the Internet. That says a lot about the state of investment in our Internet.

"The result could be a fundamental shift away from buying services from the Internet to bundled services from ISPs: which would reduce competition and take investment away from Internet companies. That would be bad for everyone."

Reacting to the BPI's latest push for Internet users to be surveilled and cut off from the Internet, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said:

“The BPI are whinging that massive growth in their members’ profits in the middle of a recession isn't good enough.

“Instead of placing their fullest efforts into building their business in an open market, they argue for measures that would curtail innocent people's human rights in order to increase their profits. That is immorral.”

"We are extremely glad that judges will be taking a look at the Digital Economy Act, which we believe breaches people’s rights to freedom of expression and privacy. The Act is a mess and badly needs repealing. Judicial Review may give the government the chance to drop this heavy-handed approach to copyright enforcement."

ORG's campaign resulted in nearly 40,000 emails being sent to MPs and candidates demanding proper debate and repeal of the Act.

Open Rights Group exists to preserve and promote your rights in the digital age. We are funded by thousands of people like you. We are based in London, United Kingdom. Open Rights is a non-profit company limited by Guarantee, registered in England and Wales no. 05581537.